Methods for assessing footwear comfort: a systematic review

Matthias, Elsa C.; Banwell, Helen A.; Arnold, John B.

doi:10.1080/19424280.2021.1961879

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 110 publications

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“…Through this knowledge, we may be able to establish effective prevention strategies that reduce the risk of initial running injury. The link between footwear comfort and performance has been widely researched and has a variety of outcomes (Kong et al, 2015 ; Agresta et al, 2020 ; Hébert-Losier et al, 2020 ; Matthias et al, 2021 ). Assuming various styles (racing flat vs. traditional/cushioned) would provide different levels of comfort, it could be informative to investigate the relationship of running injuries on the perceived comfort of runners' chosen footwear.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Influencing Runner's Choices of Footwear

Ramsey

Lamb

Ribeiro

2022

Front. Sports Act. Living

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Until the mid-2000s, qualitative research has been virtually absent from running injury research. A handful of studies have been recently published regarding the attitudes and perceptions of runners and coaches toward injury development. Footwear is frequently perceived as a risk factor for running related injuries, but empeirical evidence fails to support such beliefs. The reasons why runners choose specific footwear warrants formal investigation to further understand the links between footwear and running related injuries. This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing runners choices of footwear. Interviews were conducted with 12 runners. Recordings from the interviews were transcribed verbatim and themes were developed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed 15 unique factors that influence runner's choices of footwear for running. These factors were grouped into three main themes: personal footwear characteristic preferences, other people and economic considerations. Runners largely gather information about their footwear choices from past experiences and people they trust and admire. They also emphasized the complexity of footwear choices due to availability and the constant changes preset within the footwear industry. This research adds to the growing body of knowledge to better understand the wider running injury system. Further studies are needed to establish how runners perceptions of their footwear impact injury rates and to develop effective injury prevention strategies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Influencing Runner's Choices of Footwear

Ramsey

Lamb

Ribeiro

2022

Front. Sports Act. Living

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“…Nevertheless, the most widely used overall comfort tools (100 mm or 150 mm visual analog scales) demonstrated moderate to high reliability and could therefore be recommended for future use. However, as suggested by Matthias et al [72], it would be advisable to evaluate reliability within each individual study's sample population, and to conceal the external appearance of the shoe to avoid bias introduced by participant's perceptions of footwear aesthetics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most studies were laboratory-based, repeated measures designs where comfort was measured under different footwear and/or insole conditions [14, 15, 18, 20-23, 25-30, 33, 35-39, 41, 43-48, 50-55, 57, 58, 60-71, 73-79, 81-87, 89, 90, 93, 97, 98, 100-105], but there were also 13 surveys [1, 3, 9-11, 16, 19, 24, 40, 56, 88, 92, 96], eight clinical trials [12,34,42,49,59,94,95,99], three qualitative studies [13,17,91] and three reviews [5,7,72]. Sample size ranged from 5 to 1524, and primarily included healthy young adults [10, 14, 15, 17, 18, 22, 28, 31, 32, 35, 37, 43-46, 48, 50, 53, 54, 56, 58, 60, 64, 67, 74-76, 78, 79, 83, 88, 90, 101-104], but also children [71,91], older people [1,52,63,76], participants with medical conditions (such as diabetes [16,27,68,105], rheumatoid arthritis [29], patellofemoral pain [73], plantar fasciitis [99], hallux valgus [93] and non-specific musculoskeletal disorders/symptoms [25,95]), specific occupational groups (such as military personnel [42,69,85,89], factory workers [9,12], school teachers [11], kitchen staff…”

Section: Characteristics Of Included Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Footwear comfort: a systematic search and narrative synthesis of the literature

Menz

Bonanno

2021

Journal of Foot and Ankle Research

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Objective To provide a narrative synthesis of the research literature pertaining to footwear comfort, including definitions, measurement scales, footwear design features, and physiological and psychological factors. Methods A systematic search was conducted which yielded 101 manuscripts. The most relevant manuscripts were selected based on the predetermined subheadings of the review (definitions, measurement scales, footwear design features, and physiological and psychological factors). A narrative synthesis of the findings of the included studies was undertaken. Results The available evidence is highly fragmented and incorporates a wide range of study designs, participants, and assessment approaches, making it challenging to draw strong conclusions or implications for clinical practice. However, it can be broadly concluded that (i) simple visual analog scales may provide a reliable overall assessment of comfort, (ii) well-fitted, lightweight shoes with soft midsoles and curved rocker-soles are generally perceived to be most comfortable, and (iii) the influence of sole flexibility, shoe microclimate and insoles is less clear and likely to be more specific to the population, setting and task being performed. Conclusion Footwear comfort is a complex and multifaceted concept that is influenced not only by structural and functional aspects of shoe design, but also task requirements and anatomical and physiological differences between individuals. Further research is required to delineate the contribution of specific shoe features more clearly, and to better understand the interaction between footwear features and individual physiological attributes.

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“…A total of 78 self-assessment items in the “importance of shoe properties”, “shoe complaints” and “pain or discomfort in different foot regions” sections of this study were assessed using the Likert scale, which showed a good reliability and validity to measure subjective perception [ 23 , 24 ]. The reliability levels of the subscales were as follows: importance of shoe properties (Cronbach’s α = 0.94), shoe complaints (Cronbach’s α = 0.96), pain or discomfort across foot regions (Cronbach’s α = 0.63).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender and leg‐dominance differences in shoe properties and foot injuries in badminton: a cross‐sectional survey

Shen

Lam

Teng

et al. 2022

Journal of Foot and Ankle Research

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Background While the roles of injury prevention and performance enhancement have increasingly been investigated for badminton footwear, there is a lack of research on gender-specific badminton footwear. The purpose of this study was to examine the gender differences in footwear demands and foot injuries in badminton. Methods The study was a cross-sectional survey, in which 326 recreational badminton players were recruited. The questionnaire was divided into four sections enquiring about the characteristics of (1) participant profiles, (2) importance of shoe properties (3) shoe complaints (4) and pain or discomfort in different foot regions. The Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test were performed to determine the differences between genders and the differences between leg dominance, respectively. The significance level was set at 0.05. Results Both males and females rated shoe fit as the most important features, followed by the overall comfort and injury protection. Females considered the shoe forefoot cushioning, comfort, breathability and colour as more important compared with the other properties, which showed distinct pattern differences from males. The shoe problem results indicated that plantar pain of the non-dominant foot was considered the most commonly reported footwear problem by both males and females. The problem of excessive arch-support on the dominant and non-dominant sides of male participants was significantly higher than females (p < 0.05). Occasional pain or frequent pain were mainly distributed in the forefoot, followed by the rearfoot and midfoot regions. Conclusion There were small differences in footwear demand between the dominant and non-dominant sides, but several differences existed between females and males. The results from gender differences suggested that female shoes prefer a specific shoe last for better fit, rather than a modified version of male shoes. In the future, the design of badminton shoes should consider footwear demands and foot discomfort profiles in respective male and female badminton players.

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Methods for assessing footwear comfort: a systematic review

Cited by 14 publications

References 110 publications

Factors Influencing Runner's Choices of Footwear

Factors Influencing Runner's Choices of Footwear

Footwear comfort: a systematic search and narrative synthesis of the literature

Gender and leg‐dominance differences in shoe properties and foot injuries in badminton: a cross‐sectional survey

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